[print] Category: General Posted by: Raja Petra
Zhen Zi Quan
The Straits Times
DO WE need Singapore's Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew's voice in the
Iskandar Development Region (IDR)?
Do his remarks constitute sound advice? Perceptions differ from
person to person.
MM Lee has told potential IDR investors from Singapore the truth,
which naturally does not appeal to the Malaysian government.
Although Malaysia is still uncouth in its response, it is much better
this time compared with its outburst in the past.
Judging from this, it is clear that its skills in dealing with
bilateral issues have improved.
Officials on both sides are trained under different political
ideologies. Faced with bilateral issues, Singapore is stable like a
rock, while Malaysia seems like scattered sand.
Once upset, we fall into the trap and become enraged. As a result, we
achieve nothing.
Malaysia and Singapore are neither friends nor foes, yet they share a
relationship like that between friends and foes.
A host of bilateral issues is outstanding. Now, with the emergence of
the economic zone, politicians on both sides must neither be too soft
nor too strong with their words.
If they come across as too soft, they will lose their stand; if they
appear too strong, they will upset everybody.
It is impossible for Johor Baru to be another Shenzhen. Where
Shenzhen is concerned, Beijing's words count but, in the IDR's case,
it is the opposite.
The IDR appears to be an 'emperor', but it is actually a 'beggar' in
an emperor's robe given by the government.
What an emperor and a beggar have in common is that they both live on
offerings from others.
The IDR at this juncture is striving hard to attract investments.
Since it is far from being a golden economic zone, it has to beg and
beg.
It cannot ignore politics and focus on business. It has to take into
account political dignity as well as face-saving measures in
business, and is burdened by political baggage along the way.
Backed by strong investment teams, wealthy Singapore invariably
drives a hard bargain and poses more problems than other potential
investors.
Our biggest problem is that we do not have a good team of negotiators
to take them on. The slew of outstanding bilateral issues is a
reflection of this.
The leadership changes in both countries prove that people come and
go and the situation changes.
Although the leaders of the negotiation teams of the past generation
have stepped out of their roles, their voices can still be heard.
People are utterly at a loss as to who is running the show.
Bilateral issues can be resolved a little at a time, but not the IDR.
Yet, the tardiness and suspicions that dog bilateral talks have
cropped up in the current negotiations on the IDR.
If the Malaysian government takes this opportunity to groom the next
generation of negotiators to learn the political language of the
other party and understand MM Lee's remarks, it will contribute to
the success of the IDR and bilateral talks.
We have to adjust our mindset to be more flexible; being softer is
not equivalent to being weak.
So my question is: Do we need to listen carefully to MM Lee's
remarks? In the latest exchange between the two sides, I am on MM
Lee's side.
This commentary is translated from Chinese. The original appeared in
Malaysia's China Press.
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